- 0904 Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
- 1574 Sea battle of Reimerswaal - Admiral Boisot beats Spanish fleet
- 1587 Deventer & Zutphen surrender to Spain
- 1613 Galileo observes Neptune but fails to recognize what he sees
- 1676 Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1732 Paris churchyard Saint-Médard closed after Jansenistic ritual
- 1788 Australia Day
- 1796 In Toronto, Yonge Street officially opened, running from the town of York up to Lake Simcoe
- 1802 John Beckley of Virginia appointed first Librarian of Congress
- 1814 France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
- 1820 King George III of England, blind and insane, dies at Windsor Castle.
- 1820 UK hist Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent
- 1834 US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.
- 1839 Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood
- 1845 Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" first published (New York City NY)
- 1848 Sicily accepts new Constitution (choose parliament/freedom of press)
- 1850 Henry Clay introduces a comprise bill on slavery to US Senate
- 1856 Victoria Cross established to acknowledge bravery by the British Government
- 1860 American College established in Rome by Pope Pius IX
- 1861 Kansas becomes the 34th US state
- 1863 Battle at Bear River WA US Army vs Indians
- 1864 Battle of Moorefield WV (Rosser's Raid)
- 1872 Francis L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina
- 1879 Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana established
- 1884 UK hist Appearance of the first 'fascicle' [from 'A' to 'ant'] of Oxford English Dictionary (full Dictionary not completed until 1928)
- 1886 The first successful gasoline-driven car patented, Karl Benz, Karlsruhe
- 1891 Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.
- 1895 King Koko's Kopermannen assault on Akassa Niger, 100's killed
- 1896 Emile Grubbe is first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer
- 1897 Ishbel, Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor General, helps found the Victorian Order of Nurses at the request of the National Council of Women
- 1900 Boers under Joubert beat English at Spionkop Natal, 2,000 killed
- 1900 Queen Victoria gives assent July 9 to the Commonwealth of Australia Bill,
- 1900 The American Baseball League, composed of eight teams, is organized in Philadelphia.
- 1903 Dutch railroad workers strike
- 1914 U.S. Marines land in Haiti to protect U.S. consulate
- 1916 The first bombings of Paris by German Zeppelins takes place
- 1916 World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
- 1917 English submarine K13 leaves Gaire Loch
- 1919 Secretary of state proclaims the 18th amendment (prohibition)
- 1920 Walt Disney starts first job as an artist; $40 week with Kansas City Slide Co
- 1921 Hurricane hits Washington & Oregon
- 1922 Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador dissolved
- 1923 The first flight of the autogiro (Juan de la Cierva, Madrid Spain)
- 1924 Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor, Cleveland
- 1925 British Liberals choose David Lloyd George as party leader
- 1927 4th German government of Marx forms
- 1929 Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms
- 1932 Test debut of Bill O'Reilly, vs South Africa at Adelaide
- 1933 German President von Hindenburg appoints Hitler chancellor
- 1936 The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1940 Three gasoline multiple units carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station, Yumesaki Line (Nishinari Line), Osaka, Japan, killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.
- 1942 German & Italian troops occupy Benghazi
- 1942 Peru & Ecuador sign Protocol of Rio (boundary determination)
- 1943 Battle of Wau in New Guinea starts
- 1943 New Zealand's Kiwi cruiser collides with Japanese sub I-1 at Guadalcanal
- 1943 The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
- 1944 285 German bombers attack London
- 1944 HMS Spartan sunk a 5.25in-armed "Bellona" class AA cruiser. Lost off Anzio, Italy
- 1944 In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid bombing
- 1944 USS Missouri the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched.
- 1944 World War II: About 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland.
- 1946 The racing schooner Bluenose sinks after striking a reef off Haiti
- 1949 Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand & Switzerland recognize Israel
- 1951 Liz Taylor's first divorce (Conrad Hilton Jr)
- 1953 The first movie in Cinemascope (The Robe) premieres
- 1958 Movie actor Paul Newman and actress Joanne Woodward are married.
- 1958 Murderer, Charles Starkweather, captured by police in Wyoming
- 1959 Sleeping Beauty, an animated feature produced by Walt Disney based upon a fairy tale, is released.
- 1959 Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released
- 1960 Number one hit on UK music charts - Michael Holliday - Starry Eyed
- 1963 Poet Robert Frost dies in Boston at age 88.
- 1963 The first inductees to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, are revealed. They include Earl Lambeau, Earl (Dutch) Clark, and Sammy Baugh.
- 1964 9th Winter Olympic games open in Innsbruck, Austria
- 1964 Beatles record in German "Komm, Gib Mir Diene Hand" & "Sie Leibt Dich"
- 1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released in the United States.
- 1964 Stanley Kubrick's"Dr Strangelove," premieres
- 1964 Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit
- 1966 Lawry & Simpson complete 244 opening stand vs England, Adelaide
- 1966 Snow storm in north east US kills 165
- 1966 The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity opens at the Palace Theatre, New York.
- 1967 In Ottawa Terrorists bomb Yugoslav Embassy in Ottawa and Consulate in Toronto
- 1968 Nauru adopts constitution
- 1969 Jimi Hendrix & Peter Townshend wage a battle of guitars
- 1969 Number one hit on UK music charts - Fleetwood Mac - Albatross
- 1969 Sheahan & Connolly hang on for exciting draw Australia vs West Indies
- 1971 Test debut of Dennis Keith Lillee, vs England at Adelaide
- 1975 First Annual Comedy Awards of the Year hosted by Alan King
- 1975 W I win Fifth Test against India to take exciting series 3-2
- 1976 Zeiss planetarium in Hague destroyed by fire
- 1978 Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban.
- 1979 Brenda Spencer kills 2, inspires Boomtown Rats "I Don't Like Mondays"
- 1979 Chinese vice-premier Deng Xiaoping visits Washington DC
- 1979 President Carter commuted Patricia Hearst's 7 year sentence to 2 years
- 1980 6 Iranian held US hostages escape with help of the Canadians
- 1980 Antonio Molina composer, dies at 85
- 1980 Jimmy Durante New York City NY, singer/comedian (Ink-a-dink-a-doo, Palooka, The Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 86
- 1980 Visitor posting - Hazem Alaraj was born! oh yeaaaaa baby - Israel
- 1981 Cozy Cole rocker (Topsy Part II), dies
- 1983 "Down Under" by Men At Work hit #1 on UK pop chart
- 1983 40th Golden Globes Gandhi, ET & Tootsie win
- 1983 Number one hit on UK music charts - Men At Work - Down Under
- 1984 Actress Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) marries Robert Altman
- 1984 Frances Goodrich (Diary of Anne Frank), dies from lung cancer at 93
- 1984 President Reagan formally announces he will seek a 2nd term
- 1984 Space Shuttle 41-B (STS-11) Challenger launched
- 1985 Jari Kurri of Edmonton Oilers scores 100th point of season in game 39
- 1985 New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield found not guilty of possession of marijuana, claims it was planted?
- 1986 193.8 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange
- 1986 Leif Erickson actor (John-High Chaparral), dies at 74
- 1986 Scientists in Nova Scotia report the largest fossil find in North America 100,000 pieces of bone belonging to dinosaurs, reptiles and fish.
- 1986 Yoweri Museveni sworn in as President of Uganda
- 1987 Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski composer, dies at 73
- 1987 Lisa files for separation from husband New York Met Darryl Strawberry
- 1987 William J Casey, ends term as 13th director of CIA
- 1988 Bantcho Bantchevsky US opera singer, commits suicide
- 1988 Canadian Ben Johnson breaks own 50-yard dash world record at 5.15
- 1988 Rogier van Otterloo Dutch composer/conductor, dies at 46
- 1988 Talks break down between Sandinistas and Contras
- 1988 United Airlines Boeing 747SP, circles world in 36 hours 54 minutes 15 seconds
- 1988 Visitor posting - Jimmy Washington born - USA
- 1989 Dow jumps 38.06 recoups 508-point loss since October 1987; index at 2,256.43
- 1989 Episcopal church appoints first female bishop
- 1989 Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making them the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so
- 1989 Orlando Arena opens
- 1989 USSR's Phobos II enters Martian orbit
- 1990 Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood goes on trial due to oil spill
- 1990 Former Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood goes on trial in Anchorage, Alaska, on charges arising from worst oil spill in U.S. history.
- 1990 IN Ottawa Ray Hnatyshyn sworn in as Canada's 24th Governor General
- 1991 Battle for Khafji in Saudi Arabia (begins)
- 1991 Nelson Mandela & Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi meet in Durban after 28 years
- 1991 Yasushi Inoue Japanese historian, dies
- 1992 Willie Dixon blues composer (I'm a Man, Backdoor Man), dies at 76
- 1993 Hank Werba [Herman Werblowski], US journalist (Variety), dies at 79
- 1993 Michel Renault French ballet dancer (Giselle), dies
- 1993 Test debut of Vinod Kambli, prolific Indian batsman
- 1994 Jevgeni P Leonov Russian actor (Gori, Moja Zvezda), dies at 67
- 1995 Greg Blewett scores century on Test debut vs England, Adelaide
- 1995 Super Bowl XXIX: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 and become the first NFL team to win five Super Bowl titles.
- 1995 The San Francisco 49ers make NFL history by winning their fifth Super Bowl, defeating the San Diego Chargers in super Bowl XXIX by a score of 49-26.
- 1996 23rd American Music Award Garth Brooks wins
- 1996 6,138th performance of "Cats" is held in London, surpassing record of Broadway's longest-running musical, "A Chorus Line"
- 1996 La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire.
- 1996 President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testing.
- 1996 Timmins, Ontario's Shania Twain named best new country artist at the American Music Awards
- 1997 Visitor posting - January 29, 1997 - Celyn Quinto was born
- 1998 In Birmingham, Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.
- 1998 Singers Bobby Brown found guilty of DWI in Fort Lauderdale FL
- 1998 Soyuz TM-27 launches to MIR
- 1998 Thick Fog causes highway carnage in Belgium & Netherlands, 6 die
- 1998 Woman's Clinic in Birmingham AL bombed, 1 killed
- 2001 Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
- 2004 Cannabis and cannabis resin downgraded from Class B in United Kingdom
- 2005 The first direct commercial flights from the mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier landed in Beijing.
- 2006 Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is sworn in as the Emir of Kuwait.
- 2009 The Seeing Eye (R), this nation's first school for training dogs as guides for persons who are blind or visually impaired, will celebrate its 80th anniversary. The organization, which was founded in Nashville, Tenn. and is now located in Morristown, N.J., has matched nearly 15,000 dogs with persons throughout the United States and Canada.
More historical events added daily - keep checking back